Pipelines on the bed of a body of water are normally secured to prevent them from moving with respect to the bed as a result, for example, of storms or of fluid flowing along the pipeline at a different temperature from the surrounding water. Any movement may cause severe stress or even failure of the pipeline itself.
Methods proposed to prevent or at least reduce movement of pipelines with respect to the bed include:                coating the pipeline with concrete or Gunite to weight the pipeline down;        placing rocks on top of and alongside the pipeline (rock damping);        applying ballast to the pipeline;        laying and possibly burying the pipeline in a trench; and        securing the pipeline to the bed with fasteners.        
The latter method is preferably used on rocky beds and, for this reason, is known as ‘rock bolting’.
Pipeline rock bolting methods are described in: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,903,704 A; 4,338,045; 5,730,552; 3,427,812; and 3,841,105.
Known methods in general have various drawbacks, including: the need to employ divers; and the difficulty and time-consuming work involved in positioning the fasteners correctly with respect to the pipeline.